The Look South Slice of the Export Pie Continues to Grow

John Larsen is the Deputy Director of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Secretariat.

[1]Department of Commerce data show that U.S. goods and services exports set a record for the fourth consecutive year, reaching $2.3 trillion[2] in 2013.

U.S. companies that export to our 11 free trade agreement partner countries in Latin America played a major role in this success. Through the Look South campaign[1], federal trade-promotion agencies hope to help more companies find success by taking advantage of these free trade agreements.

In 2013, U.S. goods exports to Look South markets increased $12.5 billion to $312.6 billion – more than double the 1.7 percent rate of growth for goods exports to the rest of the world.

This isn’t just a blip; we see a clear growth trend as market liberalization, growing middle class consumption, and diversifying industrialization by Latin American markets fuels healthy economic growth and import demand.

As U.S. exporters respond, the Look South markets’ share of total U.S. goods exports has steadily grown from 17 percent in 2009 to 20 percent in 2013.

Here are some more interesting facts about our exports to free trade agreement partners in Latin America:

U.S. goods exports to Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Peru have increased every year since 2009;

Exports to Mexico grew by more than $10 billion – nearly 5 percent – in 2013;

The $57 billion in combined U.S. exports to Chile, Colombia, Panama, and Peru would rank them as our 5th largest export market behind Japan and ahead of Germany; and,

The $29 billion in combined U.S. exports to the six remaining Look South markets – Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua — would rank them just behind France or Singapore.

We love talking about this data, but we love it more when we can help U.S. companies act on the data and find success!

The Look South website[1] can help your business find the on-the-ground opportunities. You can also see market snapshots by industry with “Best Prospect Sectors.”